Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 460 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 3.3%, selling 460 shares and retaining 13,527 shares valued at approximately $12.8 million.
• BlackRock reported earnings of $12.05 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and representing a 12.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share with a dividend yield of 1.9%, set to be paid on September 23rd.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,527 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $12,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 65 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 579 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.5% in the first quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 864 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9%

BLK stock traded down $9.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,099.21. The stock had a trading volume of 487,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,742. The firm has a market cap of $170.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,110.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,002.21.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.